Method of knitting patterned fabric



Jan. 5, 1960 N. I EvlN 2,919,565

METHOD OF KNITTING, PATTERNED FABRIC Filed July 17, 1956 2 Sheets-5heet1 FLE- L- INVENTOR. NATHAN EW/V ATTORNEY Jan. 5,` 1960 N. LEvlN2,919,565

METHD OF KNITTING PATTERNED FABRIC Filed July 17, 195e 2 sheets-sneer zdfl Va FNEQEBD FEED FEED N94 7- V N92 25 Z4 INVENTOR. NATHAN Ew/v FEED yN9' 26 "Y if/@w ATTORNEY 2,919,565 METHOD F KNITTING PATTERNED FABRICVathan Levin, TrentonN.J., assignor to Textile Machine Works,Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 17,1956, Serial No. 598,298

7 Claims. (Cl. 66-43 `ed a continuation-in-part, a method of knitting anoverplaid design in suture joined areas of a tubular fabric isdisclosed, the method generally providing for the operation of a fourfeed circular knitting machine in such manner that an opposite pair offeeds (also known as knitting stations) forms a corresponding lirst pairof 'fabricareas oppositely disposed in the tubular fabric while theintervening pair of feeds incorporates the overplaid design Within thesaid first pair of fabric areas during ythe knitting thereof, and thenreversing the action of each ofthe pairs of feeds for the formation of asecond pair vof oVerplaid-ornamented oppositely disposed fabric areas,

the 'fabric areas of said iirst and second pairs and of other similarpairs thereof being arranged in alternation to `form saidl tubularfabric.

In the above method, a pair of overplaid yarns is individuallyassociated with each of the feeds with the 'result thatthe overalloverplaid design in the tubular fabric is made. up of a series of eightindividual yarns,

portions of which oat walewise within the tubular fabric between certainof the fabric areas.

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a ntubljllarl weftknit fabric, which may comprise the leg portion of arstocking, having aplural section pattern composed of a plurality of suture joined fabricareas 'having' anoverplaid design in which the design is formed of aplurality of individual overplaid yarns without walef'w-ise floats, andto provide a method of knitting the same. It is also an object of thepresent invention to provide fweft knitfabric having a plural sectionpattern composed 'of a plurality of suture joined fabric areas having anoverv'plaid design wherein thedesign is formed of overplaid "yarns, ofwhich individual ones thereof are knit in adjoiningffabric'areas ofadjoining pattern sections on both `rsides ofthe common suturetherebetween, and to provide a'method of making the same.

j'It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method`of operation for a four feed circular knitting frnachine byreciprocation thereof, to knit an overplaid @design in suture joinedareas of a tubular fabric, wherein aan opposite pair of feeds forms acorresponding first pair "of fabric areas oppositely disposed in thetubular fabric inV oppositely disposed pattern sections while at each of,the intervening pair of feeds a pair of overplaid yarns is employed inincorporating the overplaid design with- ;in `the said first pair offabric areas during the knitting thereof, and then reversing the actionof each of the pairs of feeds-for the formation of a second pair ofoverplaid-ornamented oppositely disposed fabric areas, the

said pairs of overplaid yarns now being incorporated in the second pairof fabric areas at the rst named op- .,United States Patent l O2,919,565 Patented Jan. 5, 196,0

riice posite pair of feeds, these method steps being repeated to formother first and second pairs of fabric areas all of which areoverplaid-ornamented with the said pairs of overplaid yarns, the fabricareas of the said first and second pairs thereof being arranged inalternation and suture joined to form said tubular fabric.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of theinvention shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention resides .inthe novel features of the present method of knitting and in the productresulting therefrom, as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a view of one side of a solid color stocking of the Argyletype having an overplaid design of the present invention incorporatedtherein;

Fig. 2 is a partial view of the opposite side of the stocking shown inFigure l;

Fig. 3 is a View illustrating a step in the method of knitting, of thepresent invention, upon a four feed circular knitting machine, theneedle circle being indicated by a dot and dash line; and

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3 illustrating another step in themethod of knitting.

The overplaid design is preferably incorporated in circular knit hosieryand is preferably made upon la. multifeed machine of the type disclosedin the application of Benjamin Franklin Coile, Serial No. 329,801, filedJanuary 6 1953, to which reference may be made.

In the machine of the Coile application, hosiery of the Argyle orIntarsia type having solid color, suture joined, four-section patternsmay be knit by more than one method. One method includes the formationof a complete course, containing suture joined partial courses of eachof the four pattern sections, on the four feeds during each stroke ofthe machine. In a second method,

`the machine may be operated to knit an opposite pair of partial coursesof a rst pair of opposite pattern section fabric areas oncorrespondingly opposite feeds, with the other pair of feeds normallyinactive, during each stroke of the machine. In this latter method,known as the till-in system, the said irst pair of opposite fabric areasis completed by4 their associated pair of feeds, after which the saidpair of feeds is made inactive and the previously inactive pair of feedsis made active to knit the inbetween second pair of fabric areas. Forexample,

Ain the case of diamond shaped areas of an Argyle pattern,

the feeds Nos. 1 and 3 may knit an opposite pair of diamonds in anopposite pair of pattern sections with feeds Nos. 2 and 4 inactive,after which the feeds Nos.

`2 and 4,may be activated to knit and fill-in an inbetween pair ofdiamonds in the intervening pair of pattern sections with feeds Nos. 1and 3 inactive, and then these steps may be repeated. It will beunderstood that the contiguous diamonds are suture joined along theiroutlines'as the held loops thereof on needles progressively retiredduring the knitting of any one pair of diamonds are knitted when theretired needles are progressively made active during knitting of theotherpair of diamonds. The fill-in system is not limited to theformation of diamond shaped areas but may be used for solid color areasof other configuration. It is with the lill-in system of solid colorknitting that the application Serial No. 584,932 and the presentapplication are related, in connection with the incorporation of anoverplaid design.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the stocking includes atop 10, a legportion 11, and the usual foot portion 12. The leg portion is providedwith a four section diamond shaped Argyle pattern of whichy there arethe upper opposite pair -of side half diamonds 13 and 14; theintermediate opposite pair of side diamonds 15 and 16; the loweropposite pair of side half diamonds 17 and 18; the front and rear upperpair of diamonds 19 and 20; and the front and rear lower pair ofdiamonds 21 and 22. The various diamonds are joined along diagonally eX-tending suture lines indicated at 23. The diamonds themselves, each of asolid color, are ornamented with an overplaid design comprisingrelatively narrow lines of stitches of contrastingly colored yarns, theoverplaid designgenerally dividing each diamond into a group of foursmaller diamonds. The diamond areas 13, 15 and 17 and the diamond areas14, 16 and 18, are formed in an opposite pair of pattern sections whilethe diamond areas 19 and 21 and the diamond areas 2t) and 22 are formedin the intervening pair of pattern sections, It will be noted that thereare a number of wales common to adjacent pattern sections.

The diamond shaped areas on the side of the stocking shown in Figure 1are provided with an overplaid design knit of overplaid yarns a and bwhich start to knit generally at about the center of the widest courseof half diamond 13 and, as the knitting continues, diverge at an angleto the wales to meet the mid-points of its lower suture lines 23 (whichare also the mid-points of the upper suture lines 23 of diamonds 19 and20) about half way down the half diamond 13, then continue to knit alongthe same diverging lines in the diamonds 19 and 20 to about the centersthereof after which they are knit along converging lines to meet themid-points of the lower suture lines 23 of these diamonds 19 and 20(which are also the mid-points of the upper suture lines 23 of diamond15), then continue to knit along the same converging lines 'to meet atabout the center of diamond 15 after which they are knit along diverginglines to meet the mid-points of the lower suture lines 23 of diamond 15(which are also the mid-points of the upper suture lines 23 of thediamonds 21 and 22), then continue to knit along the same diverginglines in the diamonds 21 and 22 to the centers thereof after which theyare knit along converging lines to meet the mid-points of the lowerVsuture lines 23 of these diamonds 21 and 22 (which are also themid-points of the upper suture lines 23 of the lower half diamond 17)and then continue to knit along the same converging lines in the halfdiamond 17 to meet at about the center of its widest course, after whichvknitting of the overplaid yarns a and b ceases and the terminal endsthereof oat inside the stocking, as indicated by the dotted lines, thebeginning ends of these yarns also being indicated by dotted lines.

In a similar manner the diamond shaped areas on the side of the stockingshown in Fig. 2 are provided with an overplaid design knit of overplaidyarns c and d incorporated therein during the knitting of thesediamonds. It should be noted that the lines knit of the yarns b and cmeet generally at the centers of diamonds 19 and 21, and that the linesknit of the yarns a and b meet generally at the centers of diamonds 20and 22.

The particular location of the overplaid design shown in the drawing isby way of example only and it may be placed in other portions of thediamonds, also, the design itself may be varied, and, in one form oranother, may be used in combination with suture joined fabric areas ofother configuration.

Generally in the method of knitting set forth in application Serial No.584,932, the side half diamonds 13 and 14, the side full diamonds 15 and16, and the side half diamonds 17 and 13, are knit at feeds Nos. 2 and 4of suitable body yarns, while the overplaid design is incorporated inthese diamonds at the feeds Nos. l and 3 by using a pair of overplaidyarns at and individual to each V of the latter feeds. The front andrear diamonds 19, 20,

21 and 22 are knit at feeds Nos. 1 and 3 of suitable body yarns, whilethe overplaid design is incorporated in these `diamonds at feeds Nos. 2and 4 by using another pair of overplaid yarns at and individual to eachof the latter feeds. The overplaid yarns thus float walewise inside thefabric between the diamonds within which they are incorporated since theknit lines of the overplaid yarns do not extend into adjoining fabricareas.

According to the method of knitting of the present invention, theopposite side half diamonds 13 and 14, the opposite side half diamonds17 and 13, and the opposite full diamonds 15 and 16, are knit at feedsNos. 2 and 4, of suitable body yarns 24 and 25 (according to thediagrammatic arrangement of Fig. 3) while at the same time the overplaidyarns, b and c at feed No. 1 and a and d at feed No. 3, are incorporatedtherein at the latter two feeds, generally after the manner set forth inapplication Serial No. 584,932. The front and rear diamonds 19, 20, 21and 22 are knit at feeds Nos. 1 and 3, of suitable body yarns 26 and 27(according to the diagrammatic arrangement of Fig. 4) while at the sametime the overplaid yarns, a and b at feed No. 2 and c and d at feed No.4, are incorporated therein at the latter two feeds, also generallyafter the manner set forth in the application Serial No. 584,932, butdiffering therefrom in that the same overplaid yarns previously fed atfeeds Nos. 1 and 3 are now fed at feeds Nos. 2 and 4. It should be notedthat the overplaid yarns are arranged in a particular manner at thevarious feeds, one of each pair thereof being moved from any one feed tothe feed nearest thereto to provide the pair of overplaid yarns thereat.The yarns a and b are moved from the feeds Nos. l and 3 to provide thepair of yarns for feed No. 2 while the yarns c and d are moved from thefeeds Nos. 1 and 3 to provide the pair of yarns for feed No. 4. Theoverplaid yarns are moved back and forth between the feeds to providethe arrangements of Figs. 3 and 4, as required for the knitting of thevarious pairs of diamonds as the knitting continues to form the fullcomplement of diamond shaped areas required for the tubular fabric. Thebody yarns may be changed as to color as desired so that the variousdiamonds may be contrastingly colored. The overplaid yarns, which mayalso be contrastingly colored, may each be moved back and forth betweenan adjacent pair of feeds by any suitable means, for example, by amovable yarn feeding finger which is suitably pivoted to swing tofeeding positions, under pattern control, at and between each pair ofadjacent feeds.

The yarns a and b, after knitting in the half diamond 13, continue toknit, successively, in the diamonds 19 and 20, the diamond 15, thediamonds 21 and 22, and the half diamond 17, and the yarns c and dlikewise, after knitting in the half diamond 14, continue to knit,successively, in the diamonds 19 and 20, the diamond 16, the diamonds 21and 22, and the halt:` diamond 18. Thus vertical interior oats of theoverplaid yarns (which were subject to a trimming operation) betweendiamonds are avoided and the overplaid design is formed of a lessernumber of yarns to provide a neater and generally more attractiveappearance to the interior of the stocking which is thus free ofunsightly cut ends of overplaid yarns. Furthermore, a stronger andbetter stitch construction is provided by continuing the knitting of theoverplaid design across the suture lines by the same yarns, for thisavoids the possibility of holes or weak points in the fabric at theplaces where, previously, the stitches of each separate overplaid yarneither terminated or began at or near the suture lines. It will be notedthat each of the overplaid yarns is knit in the fabric areas of anadjacent pair of pattern sections, and, while each yarn is shown in thewales common to both pattern sections, the overplaid yarns may also beknit in other wales of these pattern sections.

Having thus described my invention in full detail, it will be understoodthat these details need not be strictly adhered to and that variouschanges and modifications may be made all falling within the scopek ofthe invention as dened by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine having fourknitting stations and adapted to reciprocate to knit at said stations,including the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarn at each of a rstopposed pair of said stations to simultaneously form a first opposedpair of fabric areas, the step of reciprocatorily knitting a pair ofyarns at each of the remaining opposed pair of knitting stations to forman over-plaid design of said pairs of yarns in said first opposed pairof fabric areas during the knitting thereof, and the step of changingthe operation of the opposed pairs of knitting stations tosimultaneously form a second opposed pair of fabric areas at saidremaining opposed pair of stations having an overplaid design formedtherein of said pairs of yarns at said first opposed pair of knittingstations.

2. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine having fourknitting stations and adapted to reciprocate to knit at said stations,including the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarn at each of a rstopposed pair of lsaid stations to simultaneously form a first opposedpair `of fabric areas, the step of reciprocatorily knitting a first anda second pair of yarns at the first and at the second of the remainingopposed pair of knitting stations, respectively, to form an overplaiddesign of said pairs of yarns in said first opposed pair of fabric areasduring the knitting thereof, the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarnat each of said remaining opposed pair of knitting stations tosimultaneously form ya second pair of fabric areas, and the step ofreciprocatorily knitting one of said first and one of said second pairsof yarns at each of said first opposed pair of knitting stations to forman overplaid design of said pairs of yarns in said second pair of fabricareas during the knitting thereof.

3. A method asset forth in claim 2 including the additional step ofrepeating the knitting action of the pairs of knitting stations tosimultaneously form additional pairs of correspondingly similar fabricareas.

4. A method -as set forth in claim 2 including the step of repeating theknitting action of the pairs of knitting stations to simultaneously formadditional pairs of correspondingly similar fabric areas, and the stepof suture-joining the terminal edges of the fabric areas, during theknitting thereof.

5. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine having fourknitting stations and adapted to reciprocate to knit a tubular fabric atsaid stations, including the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarn ateach of an opposite pair of said stations to simultaneously form a rstpair of oppositely disposed fabric areas, the step of reciprocatorilyknitting a pair of yarns at each of the intervening pair of knittingstations to form an overplaid design of said pairs of yarns in saidfirst pair of fabric areas during the knitting thereof, and the step ofchanging the knitting action of the pairs of knitting stations tosimultaneously form a second pair of oppositely disposed fabric areasarranged in circumferential alternation in relation to the rst namedfabric areas to form said tubular fabric and having an overplaid designtherein of said pairs of yarns.

6. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine having fourknitting stations and adapted to reciprocate to knit a tubular fabric atsaid stations, including the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarn ateach of an opposite pair of said stations to simultaneously form a rstpair of oppositely disposed fabric areas, the step of reciprocatorilyknitting a rst and a second pair of yarns at the first and at the secondof the intervening pair of knitting stations, respectively, to form anoverplaid design of said pairs of yarns in said first pair of fabricareas during the knitting thereof, the step of reciprocatorily knittinga yarn at each of said intervening pair of knitting stations tosimultaneously form a second pair of oppositely disposed fabric areasarranged in circumferential alternation with and suture joined to thefirst named fabric areas to form said tubular fabric, and the step ofreciprocatorily knitting one of said rst and one of said second pairs ofyarns at each of said opposite pair yof knitting stations to form anoverplaid design of said pairs of yarns in said second pair of fabricareas during the knitting thereof.

7. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine having fourknitting stations and adapted to reciprocate to knit at said stations,including the step of reciprocatorily knitting a yarn at each of anopposite pair of said knitting stations to simultaneously form a firstpair of oppositely disposed fabric areas, the step of reciprocatorilyknitting a pair of circumferentially spaced yarns at each of theintervening pair of knitting stations to form an overplaid design ofsaid pairs of yarns in said lirst pair of fabric areas during theknitting thereof, the step of moving one of each of said pairs ofcircumferentially spaced yarns to the next knitting station nearestthereto to provide a pair of circumferentially spaced yarns at each ofsaid opposite pair of knitting stations, the step of reciprocatorilyknitting a yarn at each of said intervening pair of knitting stations tosimultaneously form a second pair of oppositely disposed fabric areasarranged in circumferential alternation with the first named fabricareas, and the step of reciprocatorily knitting the said provided pairsof circumferentially spaced yarns at said opposite pair of knittingstations to form an overplaid design in said second pair of fabric areasduring the knitting thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,217,022 Lawson Oct. 8, 1940 2,626,516 Green Jan. 27, 1953 2,642,732Thurston June 23, 1953 2,680,961 Thurston June 15, 1954 2,693,094Marlette et al. Nov. 2, 1954 :2,856,762 Gell Oct. 21, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 790,141 Great Britain Feb. 5, 1958

